Study Desk

That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet ^(C1)concerning the nations.

To ^(C1)Egypt, concerning the army of ^(C2)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at ^(C3)Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the ^(C4)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

"^(C1)Set up the ^(F1)buckler and shield, And advance to the battle!

-"Harness the horses, And ^(F1)mount the steeds, Take your stand with helmets on! ^(C1)Polish the spears, Put on the ^(C2)coats of armor!

-"Why have I seen it? They are terrified, They are ^(C1)retreating, And their ^(C2)warriors are defeated And have taken refuge in flight, Without facing back. ^(F1)(C3)Terror is on every side!" Declares the LORD.

Let not the ^(C1)swift man flee, Nor the warrior escape. In the north beside the river Euphrates They have ^(C2)stumbled and fallen.

Who is this that ^(C1)rises like the Nile, Like the rivers whose waters surge?

Egypt rises like the Nile, And like the rivers whose waters surge; And He has said, "I will ^(C1)rise and cover that land; I will ^(C2)destroy the city and its inhabitants."

Go up, you horses, and ^(F1)(C1)drive wildly, you chariots, So that the warriors may ^(F2)march forward: ^(F3)Cush and ^(F4)(C2)Put, who handle the shield, And the ^(F5)(C3)Lydians, who handle and bend the bow.

For ^(C1)that day belongs to the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies, A day of ^(C2)vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes; And the ^(C3)sword will devour and be satisfied, And ^(F2)drink its fill of their blood; For there will be a ^(C4)slaughter for the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies, In the land of the north at the river Euphrates.

Go ^(C1)up to Gilead and obtain balm, ^(C2)Virgin daughter of Egypt! You have used many ^(F1)remedies in vain; There is ^(C3)no healing for you.

The nations have heard of your ^(C1)shame, And the earth is full of your ^(C2)cry of distress; For one ^(C3)warrior has stumbled over ^(F1)another, And both of them have fallen down together.

This is the ^(F1)message which the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the ^(C1)coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to ^(C2)strike the land of Egypt:

"Declare in Egypt and proclaim in ^(C1)Migdol, Proclaim also in Memphis and ^(C2)Tahpanhes; Say, 'Take your stand and get yourself ready, For the ^(C3)sword has devoured those around you.'

-"Why have your ^(C1)powerful ones been cut down? They do not stand because the LORD has ^(C2)thrust them away.

-"They have repeatedly ^(C1)stumbled; Indeed, they have fallen, one against another. Then they said, 'Get up, and ^(C2)let's go back To our own people and our native land, Away from the ^(F1)(C3)sword of the oppressor!'

-"^(F1)They shouted there, 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is nothing but ^(C1)a big noise; He has let the appointed time pass by!'

-"As I live," declares the ^(C1)King, Whose name is the LORD of armies, "One certainly shall come who is like ^(C2)Tabor among the mountains, Or like ^(C3)Carmel by the sea.

-"Make your baggage ready for ^(C1)exile, ^(C2)Daughter living in Egypt, For ^(C3)Memphis will become a desolation; It will be destroyed and ^(F1)deprived of inhabitants.

-"Egypt is a pretty ^(C1)heifer, But a ^(F1)horsefly is coming ^(C2)from the north—it is coming!

-"Also her ^(C1)mercenaries in her midst Are like fattened ^(C2)calves, For they too have turned away and have fled together; They did not stand their ground. For the day of their disaster has come upon them, The time of their ^(C3)punishment.

-"Its sound moves along like a serpent; For they move on ^(F1)like an army And come to her as woodcutters with axes.

-"They have cut down her ^(C1)forest," declares the LORD; "Certainly it will no longer be found, Even though ^(F1)they are more numerous than ^(C2)locusts And are without number.

-"The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame, Turned over to the ^(F1)power of the ^(C1)people of the north."

The LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Behold, I am going to punish Amon of ^(C1)Thebes, and ^(C2)Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her ^(C3)gods and her kings, indeed, Pharaoh and those who ^(C4)trust in him.

"I shall hand them over to those who are ^(C1)seeking their lives, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to his ^(F1)officers. ^(C2)Afterward, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old," declares the LORD.

"But as for you, Jacob My servant, ^(C1)do not fear, Nor be dismayed, Israel! For, see, I am going to ^(C2)save you from far away, And your descendants from the land of their captivity; And Jacob will return and be ^(C3)undisturbed And secure, with no one making him afraid.

-"Jacob My servant, do not fear," declares the LORD, "For ^(C1)I am with you. For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations Where I have driven you, Yet I will ^(C2)not make a complete destruction of you; But I will ^(C3)correct you properly And by no means leave you unpunished."

The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the ^(C1)Philistines, before Pharaoh ^(F1)conquered ^(C2)Gaza.

This is what the LORD says: "Behold, waters are going to rise from ^(C1)the north And become an overflowing torrent, And ^(C2)overflow the land and everything that is in it, The city and those who live in it; And the people will ^(C3)cry out, And every inhabitant of the land will wail.

-"Because of the noise of the ^(F1)(C1)galloping hoofs of his ^(F2)stallions, The roar of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels, The fathers have not turned back for their children, Because of the debility of their hands,

Because of the day that is coming To ^(C1)destroy all the Philistines, To eliminate from ^(C2)Tyre and Sidon Every surviving ally; For the LORD is going to destroy the Philistines, The remnant of the coastland of ^(C3)Caphtor.

-"^(C1)Baldness has come upon Gaza; ^(C2)Ashkelon has been destroyed. Remnant of their valley, How long will you ^(C3)gash yourself?

-"Ah, ^(C1)sword of the LORD, How long will you not be quiet? Withdraw into your sheath; Rest and stay still.

-"How can ^(F1)it be quiet, When the LORD has ^(C1)given it an order? Against Ashkelon and against the sea shore— There He has ^(C2)summoned it."

Concerning ^(C1)Moab. This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Woe to ^(C2)Nebo, for it has been destroyed; ^(C3)Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured; The high stronghold has been put to shame and ^(F1)shattered.

-"There is no longer praise for Moab; In ^(C1)Heshbon they have devised disaster against her: 'Come and let's cut her off from being a nation!' You too, ^(F1)Madmen, will be silenced; The sword will follow you.

-"The sound of an outcry from ^(C1)Horonaim, 'Devastation and great destruction!'

-"Moab is broken, Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress.

-"For they will go up by the ascent of ^(C1)Luhith With continual weeping; For at the descent of Horonaim They have heard the ^(F1)anguished cry of destruction.

-"^(C1)Flee, save yourselves, So that you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.

-"For because of your ^(C1)trust in your own achievements and treasures, You yourself will also be captured; And ^(C2)Chemosh will go off into exile Together with his priests and his leaders.

-"A destroyer will come to every city, So that no city will escape; The valley also will be ruined And the ^(C1)plateau will be destroyed, As the LORD has said.

-"Give ^(F1)(C1)wings to Moab, For she will ^(F2)flee away; And her cities will become a ^(C2)desolation, Without inhabitants in them.

-"^(C1)Cursed is the one who does the LORD'S work ^(C2)negligently, And cursed is the one who restrains his ^(C3)sword from blood.

"Moab has been ^(C1)at ease since his youth; He has also been ^(C2)peaceful, like wine on ^(F1)its dregs, And he has not been ^(C3)poured from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into exile. Therefore ^(F2)he retains his flavor, And his aroma has not changed.

"Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will pour out his vessels and smash ^(F1)his jars.

"And Moab will be ^(C1)ashamed of ^(C2)Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed of ^(C3)Bethel, their confidence.

-"How can you say, 'We are ^(C1)warriors, And men competent for battle'?

-"Moab has been destroyed and ^(F1)men have gone up to ^(F2)his cities; His choicest ^(F3)(C1)young men have also gone down to the slaughter," Declares the ^(C2)King, whose name is the LORD of armies.

"The disaster of Moab will ^(C1)soon come, And his catastrophe has hurried quickly.

-"Mourn for him, all you who live around him, And all of you who know his name; Say, 'How the mighty ^(F1)(C1)scepter has been broken, A staff of splendor!'

-"^(C1)Come down from your glory And sit on the parched ground, O ^(C2)daughter living in ^(C3)Dibon, For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you, He has ruined your strongholds.

-"Stand by the road and keep watch, You inhabitant of ^(C1)Aroer; ^(C2)Ask him who flees and her who escapes And say, 'What has happened?'

-"Moab has been put to shame, for it has been ^(F1)shattered. Wail and cry out; Declare by the ^(C1)Arnon That Moab has been destroyed.

"Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, ^(C1)Jahzah, and against ^(C2)Mephaath,

against Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,

against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and ^(C1)Beth-meon,

against ^(C1)Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.

"The ^(C1)horn of Moab has been cut off, and his ^(C2)arm broken," declares the LORD.

"^(C1)Make him drunk, for he has ^(F1)become ^(C2)arrogant toward the LORD; so Moab will ^(F2)vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock.

"Now was Israel not a ^(C1)laughingstock to you? Or was he ^(F1)(C2)caught among thieves? For whenever you speak about him you ^(C3)shake your head in scorn.

-"Leave the cities and live among the ^(C1)rocky cliffs, You inhabitants of Moab, And be like a ^(C2)dove that nests Beyond the mouth of the chasm.

-"^(C1)We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud— Of his haughtiness, his ^(C2)pride, his arrogance, and ^(F1)his self-exaltation.

-"I know his ^(C1)fury," declares the LORD, "But it is futile; His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.

-"Therefore I will ^(C1)wail for Moab, For all of Moab I will cry out; ^(F1)I will moan for the men of ^(C2)Kir-heres.

-"More than the ^(C1)weeping for ^(C2)Jazer I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah! Your tendrils stretched across the sea, They reached to the sea of Jazer; Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvest The destroyer has fallen.

-"So ^(C1)joy and rejoicing are removed From the fruitful field, and from the land of Moab. And I have ^(C2)eliminated the wine from the wine presses; No one will tread them with shouting, The shouting will not be shouts of joy.

"^(C1)From the outcry at Heshbon to ^(C2)Elealeh, to Jahaz they have ^(F1)raised their voice, from ^(C3)Zoar to Horonaim, and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate.

"And I will put an end to Moab," declares the LORD, "the one who offers sacrifice on the ^(C1)high place and the one who ^(F1)(C2)burns incense to his gods.

"Therefore My ^(C1)heart makes a sound like flutes for Moab; My heart also makes a sound like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have ^(C2)lost the abundance it produced.

"For ^(C1)every head is shaved bald, and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands, and ^(C2)sackcloth around the waists.

"On all the ^(C1)housetops of Moab and in its public squares ^(F1)there is mourning everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable ^(C2)vessel," declares the LORD.

"How ^(F1)shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back—he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an ^(C1)object of terror to all around him."

For this is what the LORD says: "Behold, one will ^(C1)fly swiftly like an eagle And ^(C2)spread out his wings against Moab.

-"Kerioth has been captured And the strongholds have been seized, So the ^(C1)hearts of the warriors of Moab on that day Will be like the heart of a ^(C2)woman in labor.

-"Moab will be ^(C1)destroyed from being a people Because he has ^(F1)become ^(C2)arrogant toward the LORD.

-"^(C1)Terror, pit, and snare are coming upon you, Inhabitant of Moab," declares the LORD.

"The one who ^(C1)flees from the terror Will fall into the pit, And the one who climbs up out of the pit Will be caught in the snare; For I will bring upon her, upon Moab, The year of their ^(C2)punishment," declares the LORD.

"In the shadow of Heshbon The fugitives stand without strength; For a fire has spread out from Heshbon And a ^(C1)flame from the midst of ^(C2)Sihon, And it has devoured the ^(C3)forehead of Moab And the scalps of the ^(F1)loud revelers.

-"^(C1)Woe to you, Moab! The people of ^(C2)Chemosh have perished; For your sons have been taken away captive, And your daughters into captivity.

-"Yet I will ^(C1)restore the fortunes of Moab In the ^(F1)latter days," declares the LORD. This is the extent of the judgment on Moab.

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